I was curious if anybody else was terrified of El Coco as a child. My grandmother would tell me Coco will come get me if I was bad. Does anybody know the full story about this boogyman? _________________Donna

I think el "coco" comes from certain Roman character which was already used in those old times to scare children. Yeah, I also heard of it when was a little boy
In Asturias there are more of those monsters, like for instance
- La guaxa (also known as curuxa, at times). Some sort of vampire - witch - shrew. It resembles vaguely the Banshee, the Black Annis or the Gwrach from the British Isles. La Guaxa has a long fang which uses to suck blood from little children.
-The "sacauntos", or "fat-collector", a bogey man which used to take away human fat and keep it in his bag.
-The "manona", the Big Hand, a misterious hand which gets through windows and takes away children. The English Black Annis has also a big hand which uses to grab kids through the windows.
In Asturian tradition there are also some tales about werewolves, if you are interested on them

The "El Coco " character is found not only in Asturian mythology, but also appears in other areas of Spain, and is a character used to frighten children who misbehave. There is a reference in the Spanish literature of the XVIth century, namely EL LAZARILLO DE TORMES. In it there is a story about a child, having seen a black man, who thought that it was El Coco._________________Desde Xixón un saludo a los hermanos de América

As a very small child I once hid in a closet for many hours because I believed the gypsies were coming to get me. We were told by our grandmother to be good or the gypsies would take us away... somewhere!
I could hear everyone shouting for me, but I knew it was just the gypsies waiting out there!
When my aunt finally found me hiding way back in a closet I still remember the fear and crying for them not to send me to the gypsies... my mother doesn't remember this at all. I have no idea what behavior created the "Gypsy Incident!"

I also recall the word "coco" but I don't remember any "Coco Incidents!."
Betty Vega

My father used to talk of, and demonstrate, what was done to keep gypsies away during his childhood in Spelter. He would encircle his chin with the thumb and forefinger of one had, palm down, then link his other thumb with the pinkie on the first hand, and waggle the second hand back and forth with its fingers open. Supposedly, if this were directed at a gypsy, the gypsy would leave.

Has anyone else ever heard of this?

He also said that everyone thought gypsies would feed crushed glass to a cow, thereby killing it so the gypsies could purchase the apparently diseased cow cheaply.

Hello! I am new to this site and as I was browsing found a reference to El Coco. I just let out a yelp and was excited to find it! We have asked around and searched a bit for info on this character with little result.
I did find a site that describe El Coco rather like the one my abuela used to describe and was a little "spooked".
My story:
We lived in a two story old home. The upstairs was now only used for storage, as it was not finished - exposed rafters, no insulation, etc. So the adults did not want us children poking around up there. SO she told us the the Coco lived up there and that he would get us if we went up there. It was a humanoid creature with wild hair and crooked teeth and a bulbous hairy nose. Imagine having it living in your home!! EEk! Well, it worked for us and we never wanted to go up alone, even as we got older and we were sent to do a chore. My older sister, in her late fifties, STILL is afraid to go up there alone.
Would enjoy any other stories out there.
Thanks and glad to have found you.